TechCrunch
New York’s state legislature has passed a bill that would prohibit social media companies from showing so-called “addictive feeds” to children under 18, unless they obtain parental consent. The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act defines an addictive feed as one where the content is recommended or prioritized based on information about the user or the user’s device — basically, these are the algorithmic news feeds used by most social apps. New York Governor Kathy Hochul is expected to sign the bill; her office has already released a statement praising its passage, along with the passage of a related New York Child Data Protection Act, which prohibits online platforms from collecting or selling personal data from users under 18 without informed consent.